This week’s season finale ofÂ American Idol will be the last time fans get to see acerbic BritÂ Simon Cowell on the judging panel. After nine seasons with theÂ FOX singing competition, Cowell will leave Idol to star in another reality talent competition,Â X Factor. In a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, Cowell explains why he decided to leave the hit reality singing competition: he was bored! Keep reading for more details…

It seems thatÂ Simon Cowell is hoping that his new reality show,Â X Factor, will bring more excitement into his life. After a nine year tenure onÂ American Idol, Cowell is saying farewell to the show that made him a household name. Fans of the acid-tongued judge can watch him in the fall of 2011 on a newÂ FOX reality competition,Â X Factor.

The longtimeÂ American Idol judge sat down with Oprah Winfrey this week for a candid interview in which he explains why he decided to leave the show. Simply put, the singing competition was a bit of a bore to him!Â â€œAfter awhile, you start to go on automatic pilot,â€ Cowell told Winfrey. â€œAnd there were too many times, Oprah, where I was sitting there bored, and I thought, â€˜[At] the end of the day, the audience doesnâ€™t tune in to watch me being bored. They deserve more than that. But I canâ€™t hide it when Iâ€™m bored. I just canâ€™t fake it.â€™”

After nine years on theÂ American Idol judging panel,Â Simon Cowell admits he was getting drained.Â Â â€œMaybe itâ€™s the draining effect when you have a lot of people who depend on you â€¦ And you just become aware that a lot of people depend on you, rely on you, or youâ€™re not giving people the time you should be giving them,â€ he said. â€œItâ€™s almost like a guilt thing. And that does drain me.”

Although he’s leaving Idol for another talent competition, Cowell wants fans to know thatÂ X Factor isn’t a carbon copy ofÂ American Idol.Â â€œItâ€™s different because thereâ€™s no upper age limit â€¦ Singing groups can enter the show,â€ he said. â€œI have no idea whether itâ€™s going to work or not, but Iâ€™ll put its success and failure on whether we can find a star.â€